These tasty duos work together to pack a nutritional punch.

Some foods just seem to go together. Rice and beans. Yogurt and bananas. Tomatoes and avocados.

These gastronomical pairings are more than just tasty -- they
have
nutritional superpowers. When the two foods are combined, they get
supercharged.

"There's all this synergy between foods that work so well together," says Elaine Magee,
MPH, RD, and author of 25 nutrition books including "
Food
Synergy
." "It isn't rocket science. You want to get a lot of whole foods because there are a lot of pairings that we don't even know about yet."

Here are 10 food power couples and a look at the likely
benefits they offer when you eat them at the same time.

Salad and egg

Sure, you should top your salad greens with lots of colorful
veggies. But if you really want to reap nutritional rewards, toss in some
cooked egg.
Researchers at Purdue University found that the absorption of carotenoid nutrients was 3.8 times
higher when participants added three scrambled eggs to their salads versus zero eggs. The study was
relatively small and was funded by the American Egg Board, but other studies
have shown that fatty acids help the body absorb nutrients — which is why you
should steer away from fat-free salad dressing. "A little bit of fat is what you need to absorb those fat-soluble vitamins that dark, leafy greens have," says St. Louis-based registered dietitian Marilyn
Tanner-Blaiser, study coordinator at the Washington University School of
Medicine. "So don't go fat-free with your dressing; light is a much better choice."

Rice and beans

There's a reason this is such a popular couple. Both rice
and beans are typically inexpensive, and when you put them together you get what's
called a complete protein, says Tanner-Blaiser . That's when a food contains an adequate amount of all nine of the
essential amino acids our bodies need.

Green tea and lemon

Lemon helps your body use more of the antioxidants in green tea. (Photo: 5 second Studio/Shutterstock.com)

A splash of lemon does more than give your green tea a fresh flavor.
Researchers found that citrus juice enables more of the healthy antioxidants
in green tea — known as catechins — to be absorbed by the body. Catechins have
been linked to better heart and brain health as well as lowered cancer risk.
"Whenever I look at 'synergy superfoods,' citrus and green tea keep
popping up," says Magee. "So this is a perfect combination."

Yogurt and bananas

Besides being the perfect basis for a tasty smoothie, these
two ingredients are an ideal combo to help repair muscles after a workout.
"Research shows that consuming these two macronutrients together shortly
after exercise speeds muscle recovery," sports dietitian Monique Ryan
tells Best Health magazine. The marriage of carbs and proteins increases insulin
levels in your body. "More insulin allows muscles to quickly soak up
repair nutrients like amino acids and glucose after a workout so they become
stronger."

Oatmeal and orange juice

Packed with vitamin C and iron, this is the true nutritional breakfast of champions. (Photo: Roxana Bashyrova/Shutterstock.com)

Oatmeal is packed with iron and the vitamin C in orange
juice boosts iron absorption. So when you sit down to a bowl of
oatmeal and a
glass of OJ, the vitamin C goes to work so your body is able to take in more
iron.

Garlic and onions

Look at all the recipes that pair these two taste
powerhouses. "They're culinary partners and they have powerful antioxidants,"
says Magee. Separately, they have been linked to a possible drop in risk of stroke,
heart disease and certain cancers, she points out. Together, you get double the whammy of even
more antioxidants.

Tomatoes and avocado

There's a good reason this healthy pair often ends up together in guacamole. (Photo: Arno Jenkins/Shutterstock).com

Like adding egg to your salad, adding some healthy fat to
your tomatoes will help make the tomato's carotenoids more readily absorbed by
your body. Tomatoes are packed with lycopene, a carotenoid thought to lower the
risk of heart disease and cancer. Make that lycopene more readily available by
mixing tomatoes with avocado (guacamole!) or drizzling them with a little olive
oil, suggests Tanner-Blaiser.

Tomatoes and broccoli

These colorful veggies are packed with cancer-fighting
compounds including lots of lycopene and vitamin C in tomatoes and
phytochemicals
in broccoli. In a prostate cancer study, the combo was more effective at
slowing prostate tumor growths in rats than either was alone.

Fish and wine

The right beverage can help your body get the most out of seafood's omega 3 fatty acids. (Photo: Evgeny Karandaev/Shutterstock.com)

In one study of people who ate fish while drinking alcohol, European researchers found that drinking a moderate amount of wine acts like a
trigger, boosting the omega-3 fatty acids from the fish. The omega-3s, which
are found primarily in fish, are thought to protect the body against coronary
heart disease.

Apple plus apple peel

Don't peel your fruit, says Magee. "The phytochemicals
in the
apple peel work best with the ones in the apple flesh to reduce
cancer," she says. "The peel is vital." The same holds true for
pretty much every fruit and vegetable with edible peels. There are a lot of
important nutrients in the skin that work in tandem with the nutrients in the
flesh. To get the most benefit, eat them both.

Ironically, the foods that work well
together nutritionally also seem to taste really good together too. It's like your
body knows something good is going on.

"Your body likes it when your nutrients come from the
food," says Tanner-Blaiser. "If you can pair them in such a way that
it adds up to a double win and you're getting the nutrients plus you're getting
the taste, how much better can that be?"